Arm braced and stabilized slingshot

ABSTRACT

An arm braced and stabilized slingshot having an upright handle and a fork for attachment of elastic bands, a single rod releasably engaging said upright handle and adapted to extend along the lower side of the forearm of a user, and arm strap for slidably engaging said rod thereby transferring forces from the wrist of operator to the upper forearm thereof.

nite States atent 1 9 0 Sweeney Feb. 11., 1975 [54] ARM BRACED AND STABILIZED 3,306,278 2/1967 Spatari 124/41 X SLINGSHOT 3,494,346 2/1970 Yount et al. [24/20 R Robert Sweeney, 8230 S.W. 27 Ln., Miami, Fla. 33155 Filed: June 11, 1973 Appl. No.: 369,078

Inventor:

US. Cl. 124/20 R, 124/30 R Int. Cl. F4lb 7/00 Field of Search 124/20 R, 22, 30 R, 21,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1954 Gauthier 124/20 R Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-William R. Browne Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Paul Ml. Pahules [57] ABSTRACT An arm braced and stabilized slingshot having an upright handle and a fork for attachment of elastic bands, a single rod releasably engaging said upright handle and adapted to extend along the lower side of the forearm of a user, and arm strap for slidably engaging said rod thereby transferring forces from the wrist of operator to the upper forearm thereof.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures ARM BRACED AND STABILIZED SLINGSHOT This invention relates to a slingshot and more particularly to an arm braced and stabilized slingshot for greater accuracy and a more comfortable operation thereof.

Many attempts have been made heretofore to support slingshots on the forearm of the user for relieving the hand and wrist of the user from relatively great forces exerted thereupon by the tension of the elastic bands for steadying the device for better operation by the use of various complicated and clumsy devises which have not been proven to'be practical and effective.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a slingshot of a simple construction, easy to assemble and disassemble, easy to operate, and which is very effective in providing steadiness, accuracy, comfort and greater range.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a slingshot which is convertible from braced to non-braced operation, permits the use of more powerful propulsion bands for a greater range, promotes greater accuracy and allows extended use through reduction of required effort and tension from the user, provides comfortable distribution of weight either in use or non-use and permits possession of the device when not in use while the user is free to use both hands for loading the device or for looking through binoculars and for any other purpose.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a slingshot which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture, and which effectively relieves the users hand and wrist of the excessive strain by transmitting the resisting forces caused by the stretched elastic bands to the upper forearm of the operator.

These and other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the drawing which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the slingshot of the present invention, the slingshot being illustrated in operative position;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the slingshot of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged isometric view of the reactive force transmitting rod and of the handle retainer thereof of the slingshot of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged bottom plan view of the rod and arm engaging strap of the slingshot of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of one of the sections of the upright handle of the slingshot of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the embodiment of the invention here illustrated is designated in general by numeral and comprises a generally upright handle 12 constructed of two sections 14 and 16 fastened together as by a bolt and nut at the upper end, as indicated at 18, and by a pair of screws 20 at the lower end. The handle section 16 is contoured, as indicated at 22, for comfort and for transmitting a reactive force by the forearm of the operator through the force transmitting rod, described more fully below, by acting as a pivot point against the heel of the hand of the user.

The handle 12 is further provided with a fork of a metallic rod extending from the upper end thereof in spaced relationship to each other. The fork 24 is formed with rearwardly bent free: ends, as indicated at 26, for insertion into elastic tubular bands 28 which are held in place by friction. The tubular bands 28 are joined at the other ends thereof by a leather like sling or piece 30 which serves as a receptacle of the missile and as a grip for the user for stretching the bands 28 to propel the missile, as is well known in the art.

At the base, the rod portions forming the fork 24 are brought close together, as at 32, and extend in a groove 34 in the handle sections 14 and 16 between which the fork 24 is enclosed and is securall y held in place by the bolt and nut 18, as shown in FlG. 5.

The slingshot 10 is adapted to be braced or supported and, especially stabilized on the arm of the user by a single substantially L-shaped metal rod 36 having a relatively short end section or leg 38 bent at an angle slightly greater than or right angle, thereto. The angle of the L-shaped rod 36 being greater than 90 is directly related to the handle contour 22 at the rear bottom position thereof bearing on the heel of the users hand.

The rod leg 38 is adapted to be inserted into a bore 40 in the handle 12 and to be releasably fastened or secured thereto by a retaining device 42. The retaining device 42 is relatively thin plate of preferably plastic material and is formed with a hole 44 and a slit 46 which imparts a spring like action thereto thereby permitting the hole 44 to increase in diameter to allow a round tip 48 of the rod leg 38 to pass through the hole 44 and then to return to the original dimension thereof through which extends a stem 50 of the round tip 48 of the rod leg 38. The retaining device 42 holds the handle 12 against moderate downward pulling force but gives way to a greater force when the rod 36 is pulled away from the handle 12. The retaining device 42 extends in a horizontally extending slot 52 in the handle 12.

The rod 36 is further adapted to extend at the free end of the relatively long leg or portion thereof through a hole 54 in a tab 56 extending downwardly from a flexible band or strap 58 adapted to surround the forearm adjacent to the elbow of a user, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the arm strap 58 is provided with fasteners, as indicated at 60, for releasably fastening in place when surrounding the forearm of the user. The fasteners 60 may be of any type desired, such as a buckle, or as in this instance, a friction type is shown for purpose of illustration only. The steel rod 36 is further provided with a safety end cap or retainer 62 of flexible or elastic material held by friction on the free end thereof for preventing accidental disengagement of the stabilizing rod 36 with the arm strap tab 58 and also tends to prevent puncture of the users body in misadventure, as shown in FIGS. 1 and. 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, when in operative position, the forces caused by the reaction to the stretching of the elastic tubes or bands 28 are transmitted to the rod 36 causing a bending moment counteracted by the tab 56 while the contoured portion 22 of the upright handle 16 is acting as a pivot point against the heel of the users hand, thereby balancing and stabilizing the slingshot 10 on the forearm of the user.

The user is thus relieved from exerting any great strength at his hand to a point that it is not necessary even to close his fingers or to tightly grip the slingshot handle 12, as illustrated in FIG. 1. Also any movement or shaking of the slingshot is dampened and thereby more comfortable, steady and effective aiming is achieved.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing specification, however, it should be understood that the invention intended to be protected herein is not limited by that which is shown in the drawing and described in the specification, but only as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An arm braced and stabilized slingshot comprising a generally upright handle,

a fork extending from an upper end of said handle,

said fork adapted for attachment of elastic bands,

a substantially L-shaped single rod having a shorter leg releasably engaged to said upright handle and a longer leg extending substantially horizontally therefrom,

arm engaging strap means for fastening around the arm of a user and having tab means for guiding said rod, said tab means extending downwardly from said strap means, said rods longer leg slidably cngaging said tab'means, and

retaining means on said rods longer leg for preventing accidental disengagement of said rod and said tab means.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said tab means have an opening therein through which extends said rods longer leg.

3. The device in claim 2 wherein said upright handle having a longitudinally extending bore therein, said rod's shorter leg extending through said handle bore, and rod retaining means in said handle bore releasably engaging said shorter leg thereto.

4. The device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said upright handle having a contoured side thereof bearing on a heel of a hand of a user for acting as a pivotal point against thereto.

5. An arm braced and stabilized slingshot comprising elastic bands, an upright handle and a fork extending from an upper end thereof for attachment of said elastic bands at the free ends thereof,

said handle having a longitudinally extending bore and a horizontally extending slot therein, a substantially L-shaped single rod formed with an angle greater than a right angle therebetween,

said L-shaped rod having a relative short leg formed with, a stem and a ball tip at the end thereof extending through said handle bore,

retaining means in said handle horizontally extending slot releasably engaging said rod ball tip extending into said handle bore,

arm strap means for securing the rod to a user, said strap means being releasably fastened around an arm of a user,

tab means extending downwardly from said strap means,

and having an opening therein for slidably engaging said rod,

said rod extending slidably at the other end of a relative long leg through said tab means opening for movement therein, and

end retaining means releasably engaging said relatively long leg of said rod for preventing disengagement of said rod and said tab means, whereby reactive forces caused by the stretching of said elastic bands are transmitted to an upper forearm of a User. 

1. An arm braced and stabilized slingshot comprising a generally upright handle, a fork extending from an upper end of said handle, said fork adapted for attachment of elastic bands, a substantially L-shaped single rod having a shorter leg releasably engaged to said upright handle and a longer leg extending substantially horizontally therefrom, arm engaging strap means for fastening around the arm of a user and having tab means for guiding said rod, said tab means extending downwardly from said strap means, said rod''s longer leg slidably engaging said tab means, and retaining means on said rod''s longer leg for preventing accidental disengagement of said rod and said tab means.
 2. The device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said tab means have an opening therein through which extends said rod''s longer leg.
 3. The device in claim 2 wherein said upright handle having a longitudinally extending bore therein, said rod''s shorter leg extending through said handle bore, and rod retaining means in said handle bore releasably engaging said shorter leg thereto.
 4. The device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said upright handle having a contoured side thereof bearing on a heel of a hand of a user for acting as a pivotal point against thereto.
 5. An arm braced and stabilized slingshot comprising elastic bands, an upright handle and a fork extending from an upper end thereof for attachment of said elastic bands at the free ends thereof, said handle having a longitudinally extending bore and a horizontally extending slot therein, a substantially L-shaped single rod formed with an angle greater than a right angle therebetween, said L-shaped rod having a relative short leg formed with, a stem and a ball tip at the end thereof extending through said handle bore, retaining means in said handle horizontally extending slot releasably engaging said rod ball tip extending into said handle bore, arm strap means for securing the rod to a user, said strap means being releasably fastened around an arm of a user, tab means extending downwardly from said strap means, and having an opening therein for slidably engaging said rod, said rod extending slidably at the other end of a relative long leg through said tab means opening for movement therein, and end retaining means releasably engaging said relatively long leg of said rod for preventing disengagement of said rod and said tab means, whereby reactive forces caused by the stretching of said elastic bands are transmitted to an upper forearm of a user. 